Lot 1121. A rare celadon-glazed melon-form vase, Yongzheng seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period  (1723-1735); 22.3 cm high. Price realised USD 107,100 (Estimate USD 80,000 – USD 120,000). © Christie's 2023

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2 May 1995, lot 99.

Note: Fruit-form ceramic vessels have a long history in China dating back to the Tang period, and remained popular through Qing dynasty. Vessels of melon form were particularly auspicious. Melons, with their numerous seeds, form the rebus gua die mian mian, 'may you have everlasting generations of sons and grandsons.' The subtly lobed form of the present vase was produced in the Yongzheng period with three known glazes. A similar vase with a celadon glaze is in the Palace Museum, Beijing (gu 00151933), along with an example featuring a turquoise glaze and another with a ‘crab-shell’ glaze, both illustrated in Monochrome Porcelain, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum (Beijing), Hong Kong, 1999, p. 166, no. 150, and pp. 276-77, no. 253, respectively. Another example with 'crab-shell' glaze was sold at Christie's Paris, 13 June 2023, lot 132. (Cf. my post: A rare 'crab-shell'-glazed vase, Qing dynasty, Yongzheng six-character seal mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1723-1736)

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 21 sept. & 22 sept. 2023